Fiat

Rédaction : Albert Lallement

An industrial saga

Fiat has been Italy's largest company for 125 years. This industrial and social adventure is exemplary and, in 2021, it joined Stellantis, which is one of global automotive powerhouses.

Fiat differs from other carmakers of its time because of the origins of its creation. In the unified Italy of the late 19th century, a number of discerning minds realised that their country's industrial underdevelopment in relation to other European nations could hinder its economic and, consequently, political independence. A visionary engineer, Giovanni Agnelli, succeeded to unite a group of strong-willed people in order to create a resolutely popular car brand.

At the time, Italy lacked companies comparable to Peugeot in France or Benz in Germany, as well as a sufficient number of top-level engineers and inventors capable of realising their plans relating to modern transport. It was against this backdrop that, on 1 July 1899, Giovanni Agnelli brought together thirty influential people from the financial, engineering and entrepreneurial sectors at the Palazzo Bricherasio in Turin to form the Società Anonima Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino. Among the shareholders were future leading figures in the Italian automotive industry, such as industrialists Giovanni Battista Ceirano and Virginio Tedeschi, racing drivers Felice Bazzaro and Vincenzo Lancia, and Joseph Farina, father of designer Gian-Battista Pinin Farina. An impressive line-up.

The Group 4 Fiat 131 Abarth won the World Rally Championship three times. Pictured here are Markku Alén and Ilkka Kivimärki who came in 3rd in the 1979 Monte Carlo Rally. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

A CAR FOR EVERYONE

From the outset, Fiat's ambition was to become a company of national importance, capable of rapidly producing cars for as many people as possible. Agnelli knew that to succeed in this challenge, he would have to abandon innovative techniques that would waste time and money if developed in-house. So the first Fiat 3.5 HP, launched in 1899, was based on a model which had already been produced by the Ceirano company.

The first mass-produced model was the Type Zero 12/15 HP of 1912, a particularly low-cost model thanks to production methods inspired by Fordism. In 1921, the first popular car was the 509, the first Fiat to win the Monte Carlo Rally. It was followed before the war by the 508 Balilla of 1931 and above all the 500 Topolino of 1936. When Gianni Agnelli, the founder's grandson, took the helm of the company in 1966, Fiat cars were given names based on the number 100, starting with the 124.

It was followed by very popular models such as the 128 in 1969, the 127 in 1971 and the 131 in 1974. With the 1978 Ritmo, Fiat models started to adopt common names: Panda, Punto, Uno, Chroma... Very early on, Fiat started investing in areas other than cars, such as commercial vehicles in 1899, heavy goods vehicles (Fiat VI) in 1907, aviation in 1918, railway equipment in 1922 and military equipment in 1937.

One of the most popular family cars of all time is the Fiat 500. More than 80 years after its launch, it remains one of the great classic models from the Turin-based company. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

THE SCUDERIA FIAT CORSE

Like many other manufacturers at the beginning of the last century, Fiat entered competition when the first major events were organised. It signed up the best drivers of the moment and in 1907 Felice Nazzaro won the ACF Grand Prix with his Fiat 130 HP Corsa, then the Targa Florio ahead of Vincenzo Lancia, also driving a Fiat. After the war, Fiat once again won the Targa Florio in 1919, then moved into Grand Prix racing, with Felice Nazzaro winning the ACF GP and Pietro Bordino winning the Italian GP in 1922 driving their Fiat 804.

On 12 July 1924, the Fiat Mefistofele 6-cylinder 22-litre car, driven by Ernest Eldridge, broke the world speed record at 234.97 km/h on the Orléans road. Fiat's Grand Prix adventure came to an end in 1927 with Bordino's final success at the Milan GP. From the 1950s onwards, although Fiat cars were regularly entered in rallies, their participation was always on a strictly private basis. Fiat made its official return in 1972 with the 124 Spider Abarth, which won the Acropolis Rally and the European Championship title.

From 1973 to 1975, Fiat finished 2nd in the World Rally Championship. From 1976 onwards, the 131 Abarth Rally successfully competed in Group 4. This car enabled Fiat to win the World Manufacturers‘ Championship in 1977, 1978 and 1980, while Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl won the Drivers’ Championship in 1978 and 1980 respectively. Two years later, the Lancia 037 Rally Group B would represent the Fiat Group in competition.

Launched in 1966, on the arrival of Gianni Agnelli, the 124 saloon was produced under licence in countries ranging from the USSR to South Korea, Morocco and Turkey. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

The Fiat 500 Topolino assembly line, in the aftermath of the war, at the historic Mirafiori facility on the southern outskirts of Turin. © IXO Collections SAS - Tous droits réservés. Crédits photo © Lancia D.R.

An iconic model

The economic situation in Europe in the aftermath of the Second World War, with the country slowly recovering from its ruins, required carmakers to design small cars that were cheap to make and could be offered at an affordable price to the majority of working class people. Like the British Morris Minor or the French Renault 4 CV, the Italian brand Fiat was working on a replacement for its 500 Topolino, dating back to the 1930s. These two cars were produced in numbers running to 4.93 million units until 1969 and 4.25 million units until 1975. The 500 made such an impact on the public perception of the car that it was relaunched in 2007 as part of the neo-retro wave. With 2.5 million units built by 2024, the 500 is bravely following in the footsteps of its predecessor.

THE MIRAFIORI FACILITY

Fiat's first historic production facility was in Corso Dante, built in 1900 in the heart of Turin. In 1922, the assembly lines were transferred to the Lingotto factory, built in 1916 in the southern suburbs of Turin. This plant remained operational until 1982, with the Lancia Delta being the last model produced on this site. In 1939, feeling a little cramped in its city centre premises, Fiat opened the new Mirafiori plant. It was bombed during the war, rebuilt and gradually became a veritable city within the city, with 20,000 employees in 1950. Twenty years later, the number of employees had risen to 50,000 and the site covered an area of 2 km 2. Some of the brand's most important models were built here, including the Fiat 124, 127 and 131, with the latter receiving the suffix Mirafiori for one of its versions. Since 2016, it has been building the Maserati Levante SUV, followed in 2020 by the electric Fiat 500, employing 1,200 workers.